Thump Thump
by Clarobell
Summary: Roronoa Zoro is a simple, yet complicated man. Stoic and silent, it's always been hard to read into what he may be feeling... until now. Rated T for language. Chapter 1 up!


**A short fic dedicated to my good friend Plushie. This chapter has undergone revision. It should read smoother now. Please enjoy :)  
This is set _before _the time skip.**

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**Thump Thump**

**A fanfiction for Plushie**

**Chapter 1: One Thing After Another**

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If one knew Roronoa Zoro, one would know he was not the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. Strong would be an understatement to the phenomenal power he possessed both physically and mentally. If one knew Zoro, they would know he was both the most relaxed and the tensest crew member at all times. Always sleeping, and yet always on guard, senses stretched to the limit at all times - complicated yet simple, fierce yet graceful. Zoro was in every essence the embodiment of an oxymoron. Everything about his personality contradicted itself. When one was sure that he was the most sane and serious among the crew, he would go and do something crazy like say, try to chop off his feet to escape and fight or swing on a vine screaming a 'call of bravery'. One thing was certain though: even to those closest to him, Zoro was not so easily read.

Emotions closed behind a stoic, almost stern expression. Other than on the odd occasion or during parties where lots of drink was involved, it would be unlikely that you could read any other emotion that annoyance on the swordsman's face.

Then it happened.

It was kind of stupid really and totally unintentional. Then again most 'accidents' aboard the Thousand Sunny weren't intended.

The day was peaceful, pleasantly warm with a gentle breeze. Perfect napping conditions for a certain swordsman. Zoro as per usual was sprawled across the deck, basking in the midday sun after his morning training routine. A light sheen of sweat still lingered on his skin, cooled by the drifting breeze. Luffy, lulled by the warm weather was also napping sprawled across Sunny's figure head. At some point, Robin had brought him a pillow, so that he could rest more comfortable against the 'lion's mane' that was the figurehead. It didn't look like the Straw Hat's captain would rise anytime soon which almost certainly guaranteed the peace. Nami, amused by Usopp's latest tale of 'giant monstrous mikan' had decided to join in on the telling of the tale. It was a little out of the ordinary for the sharpshooter as Nami altered the details of his story time and again and eve threw in her own ideas, but it certainly wasn't unwelcome. Franky didn't seem to mind either way as he listened with a smirk. It was always amused him to watch the 'veteran' members of the Straw hat crew bicker and banter. He had been the listening ear for Usopp's lies today, as Chopper was busy mixing a new batch of Rumble balls. The shipwright laughed heartily as Usopp and Nami broke out in a fight over one of the details in the story (being whether the monstrous mikan would live or die) and watched on in amusement. He wisely decided not to intervene with the little spat – he knew how dangerous the women of the crew could be. Brooke could be heard below deck, playing a soft melody that seemed to roll with the gentle waves Sunny was sailing and Sanji had been in the galley for the last hour after he proclaimed that he would 'prepare a special something for the two lovely ladies'.

Not a speck marred the horizon and Robin continued to read one of her many history books in the rare peace. She occasionally bloomed an eye here or there around the ship to keep an eye on her crew. At one point, Luffy had shifted and almost slipped into the sea, but a quick readjusted from a disembodied arm righted him again before it vanished in a flurry of petals. With everybody in such a peaceful and rested state of mind, it seemed as if nothing could go wrong – but isn't that always the way it starts?

Chopper had been the first to pick up the delicious aroma that emanated from the galley, and with a watering mouth had tentatively left his ingredients (after packing them away safely of course) to investigate what delicious treat Sanji may have concocted and if maybe he had any left over, that the little reindeer could pilfer.

With Luffy napping and Usopp still engaged in a heated argument with Nami over the evil Mikan, Chopper didn't have much competition. With a little begging and a lot of pouting, he found himself privileged enough to be allowed to lick the mixing bowl before it went into wash. Sanji had smiled and lifted the tray that held his lovely ladies' delicious delights before he gracefully strutted out on deck to deliver them.

Of course, the moment he'd left the galley, he'd seen that Usopp – yes, Usopp – that coward of all people had _dared_ to talk back to his precious Nami-san! Well, only one thing could be done about that. The chef strode forward, steps wide and swift as one hand still easily balanced the tray of treats. Unfortunately for Sanji a certain swordsman's foot foiled his plans. Had he not been so preoccupied with thoughts on how to punish Usopp best, maybe his keen senses would have noticed the stray limb but alas, 'twas not to be and with a surprised grunt the cook toppled forward.

His reflexes kicked in at the last second and with an inhuman twist he flipped back to his feet. The gorgeous treats however seemed dissatisfied that idea as they overbalanced and almost slid from the chefs nimble fingers. Quick thinking had Sanji leaning forward with them and the whole process repeated as the blonde chef front flipped across the length of the deck like a battery powered slinky.

Chopper, exited the galley with his spoils just in time to witness the spectacle and gaped with wide eyes. He was so engrossed in Sanji's acrobatic act that he failed to notice the ceramic dish slip between his hoofs and with a loud crash, it shattered at his feet, startling the poor doctor. The little reindeer screamed bloody murder as he hopped from one foot to the other, hooves clutching his hat in panic before he bolted to the nearest hiding place available. In his haste though, he ran straight into Brooke (who had finished his song and decided the join the rest of the crew). The furry doctor clung to the skeletons legs for dear life which only caused the bag of bones to topple over and straight down the stairs on deck. The two landed with a crash against Zoro's weights and as if summoned from the dead by the subconscious knowledge that _somebody_ was messing with his things, Zoro cracked an eye open with an agitated grunt.

By now Sanji had finally come to a stop. He'd crashed face down on the deck in a final attempt to stop himself (and save the treats at the same time) before he ended up flipping right overboard. Luffy still slept soundly and blissfully unaware of the chaos around him as Nami and Usopp stared between Sanji and the heap of crewmates at the bottom of the stairs with comically shocked expressions on their faces. Franky, moved over to help his 'fallen brothers' and lifted his sunglasses with a raised eyebrow as Sanji growled and turned a heated glare on Zoro. The latter either didn't notice or simply didn't care.

The chef stomped his way across deck towards Zoro, (treats now happily sitting behind him, safe on the floor) teeth ground together.

"Oi! Shitty swordsman!" he growled, fists clenching. "What the hell-"a long, muscled leg thrust forward and slammed against Zoro's drawn sword with a metallic twang. "-was that?"

Zoro sneered, eyes narrowed. It was obvious he was not happy with being interrupted from his nap. He opened his mouth to snarl back a retort when suddenly the ship lurched and rocked violently. Robin, who had watched the commotion below from the lookout quickly bloomed several arms around the ship to grab hold of her disoriented crewmates before any of them were tossed into the sea from the frantic swaying.

"The hell did you do now?" Sanji hissed out, blue eyes narrowed at his green haired crew mate.

"What made you think _I_ did that, shitty cook?"

Sanji didn't bother to grace Zoro with a reply and instead threw a kick forward, aimed at the swordsman's head. Zoro leaned back and felt the rush of air from Sanji's passing shoe against the skin of his face, but before he could lean forward again the ship gave another violent lurch. In a clumsy tumble, Zoro fell back and tripped over the thick rope he had been using as a pillow and toppled gracelessly over the side of the railing… where he was promptly swallowed by a sea king.


End file.
